Use of marijuana and alcohol among current college students (N = 1101) was compared to the perceptions and use of entering freshmen (N = 481) surveyed before the start of classes. Entering freshmen significantly misperceived campus norms for marijuana use, over-estimating that almost every student used in the last 30 days, p < .001. Perceptions of alcohol use were relatively accurate. These discrepancies in perception could account for why 40.5% of entering students perceived the campus atmosphere to be promoting marijuana use, whereas only 16.2% perceived the campus atmosphere to be promoting alcohol use. How these misperceptions of social norms might be influenced by the reputation of the campus—and how this might affect potential applicants and enrolled students' behaviors are discussed.
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